Closure and sealing assembly for bottles



Aug. 10, 1965 E. DAVIDSON CLOSURE AND SEALING ASSEMBLY FOR BOTTLES Filed Oct. 22, 1963 F I0. 1, FIG. 3.

I I m INVENTOR. EM/A DA W05 V BY i7 4 arrakzvtrs United States Patent 3,199,764 CLOSURE AND SEALlNG FOR BGTTLES Emil Davidson, Scarsdale, N.Y., assignor to Guild Moiders, lnc., Elmsford, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Get. 22, 1963, tier. No. 317,957 4 Claims. (ill. 215 -43) The present invention relates generally to bottle closures, and in particular to a combined closure and seal ing assembly for a bottle.

A typical bottle includes a neck terminating in a neck top wall having external threads and an internal bore meeting the the neck top Wall at a junction. A typical cap for closing such bottle includes a top wall and a depending body wall having internal threads for threaded engagement with the external threads on the neck of the bottle. Usually, provision is made for achieving a seal within the internal bore and at the neck top wall to preclude leakage. There is ever present the problem of effecting an adequate seal in a closure and cap assembly of this type in that the top wall of the neck of the bottle may not be planar, the external threads on the neck may have minor imperfections which does not always pull the cap axially in relation to the neck of the bottle, the cap itself may have manufacturing irregularities which preclude the optimum mating between the cap and the neck of the bottle, and the separate sealing member or liner may be such as not to afford an optimum closure. There exists a need for an improved closure and sealing assembly which takes into account the aforesaid variables encountered during normal mass production manufacture and provides an optimum seal at relatively low unit cost.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved closure and sealing assembly for a bottle which realizes one or more of the aforesaid objectives. Specifically, it is within the contemplation of the present invention to provide a closure incorporating a sealing men her which may yield and accommodate to any irregularities in the neck of the bottle adjacent its junction with the internal bore thereof to thereby assure proper seal about the neck adjacent such junction, despite the normal variables which are encountered during the manufactue of glass bottles and caps.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment demonstrating objects and features of the present invention, there is provided the combination with a bottle including a neck terminating in a neck top wall and having external threads and an internal bore meeting the neck top wall at a junction, of a combined closure and sealing assembly for the bottle which comprises a cap including a top wall and a depending body wall defining a socket and terminating in an open end. The assembly further includes an insert of yieldable material which includes a mounting wall force fitted into the socket and having internal threads which engage the external threads on the neck. The insert incorporates a depending hollow and tln'nwalled yieldable frustro-conical sealing member disposed coaxially of and in spaced relation to the internal threads and dimensioned for sealing engagement with the neck adjacent the junction. Means are provided for suspending the sealing member from the mounting wall such that the sealing member may yield and accommodate to any irregularities in the neck adjacent the junction and provide a seal about the neck adjacent the junction. The suspending means includes an annular thin-Walled yieldable flange integral with the mounting Wall and the sealing member. The internal threads on the insert engage the external threads on the bottle when the cap is engaged on the bottle to force the sealing member against the neck to provide the desired seal. Preferably, the suspending flange is spaced from the neck top wall when the cap is engaged on the bottle such that there is no interefernece with the sealing member yielding and ac commodating to irregularities in the neck.

Although it is preferable to incorporate the suspended sealing member in an internally threaded insert, which is received Within the cap in that this facilitates using a standard insert which may be incorporated into caps of various dress and ornamentation, it will be appreciated that the insert per se may serve as the cap and be of the requisite external appearance to provide the desired dress to the ultimate closure.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment demonstrating objects and features of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view through a typical insert embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the insert shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view, with parts broken away and sectioned, showing the insert as force fitted into a cap and engaged on the externally threaded neck of a bottle.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, there is shown a bottle ill which includes a neck 12 terminating in a neck top Wall. The bottle it has external threads 16 and an internal neck bore 13 which communicates with the interior of the bottle and terminates at a junction meeting the neck top wall 14. In the mass porduction manufacture of bottles of this type, bottle manufacturers have difficulty in holding the internal diameter of the neck within close tolerances and in maintaining the neck top wall 14 in a single plane precisely at right angles to the longitudinal central axis of the bottle. This coupled with the normal tolerance which may be realized in the manufacutre of the cap by plastic molding techniques often results in faulty seals.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a combined closure and sealing assembly, generally designated by the reference number 22, which includes a cap 24 having a top Wall 26 and a depending cylindrical body wall 28 which defines an internal socket 30 which is of generally circular cross section and terminates at a lower open end 36a. Although the cap 24 has been illustrated as of a relatively simple construction including a domed top wall 26 and a generally cylindrical body wall 23, it will be appreciated that the same may be of various shapes and configurations provided that the same is internally contructed to accommodate the insert, as will now be described.

As seen best in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is provided an insert 32 which is fabricated of yieldable material and includes a mounting Wall 34 which is dimensioned to be force fitted into the socket 39 within the cap 24 by in sertion through the open end 36a thereof. Extending lengthwise of the outer periphery of the mounting wall 34- is an elongated air vent which terminates in an enlarged vent mouth 38 (see FIG. 2) opening through the lower edge 34a of the mounting wall 34 such that any air which tends to be entrapped within the cap during the force fitting of the insert 32 into the cap 24 will be permitted to escape to the atmosphere. Additionally, the mounting wall 34 is of reduced cross-section adjacent to the upper edge 34b and includes a chamfer 34c contiguous to such reduced cross-section end to facilitate the insertion of the insert 32 into the cap 24.

The insert 32 further includes a depending hollow and relatively thin-walled yieldable frusto-conical sealing member 40 which is disposed coaxially of and in spaced relation to the mounting wall 34 and depends into a neckreceiving bore which has internal threads 42. As seen best in FIG. 3 the sealing member 49 is dimensioned for sealing engagement with the neck 12 adjacent the junc tion 20 between the internal neck bore 18 and the neck top wall 14. The small diameter lower end of the sealing member 40' is bridged by an end Wall 44 while the larger diameter upper end of the sealing member is joined to an annular thin-walled yieldable flange 46 which extends transversely of the insert 32 intermediate the ends thereof and is integrally joined to the mounting wall 34 and to the adjacent upper end of the sealing member 4%.

In a sense, the mounting arrangement for the sealing member 40 permits the latter to float such that the sealing member 40 is capable of corrrecting misalignments and minor variations which result during the mass production manufacture of the closure. Specifically, it will be appreciated that the progressively increasing cross section which is presented by the sealing member 49 in the region of the junction 20 will permit good sealing action to occur at successive portions of the circumference of the sealing member, the location of the seal at successive circumferential locations may vary vertically in accordance with the irregularities which may exist, either incident to the manufacture, or assembly of the components or their actual engagement during normal use. As the internal threads 42 on the insert 32 engage the external threads 16 on the neck 12 of the bottle it), the sealing member 40 is forced against the neck in the region of the junction to provide the desired seal. The suspending flange 46 is spaced from the neck .top wall 14 when the cap 24 is engaged on the bottle 19 such that there is no interference with the sealing member 49 accommodating to the irregularities which may exist, as previously described. In a typical construction, the maximum diameter of the conical sealing member 40 will be usually of the order of .02 inch greater than the internal diameter of the neck bore 18 which will assure an interference sealing fit between the sealing member and the neck 18 'of the invention herein.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a bottle including a neck terminating in a neck top wall and having external threads and an internal bore meeting said neck top wall at a junction of a combined closure and sealing assembly for said bottle comprising a cap including a top wall and a depending body wall defining a socket and terminating in an open end, an insert of yieldable material including a mounting wall force fitted into said socket, internal threads on said mounting wall dimensioned to engage said external threads on said neck, a depending hollow and thinwalled yieldable frusto-conical sealing member disposed coaxially of and in spaced relation to said internal threads and dimensioned for sealing engagement with said neck adjacent said junction, and means operatively connected to said mounting wall and to said sealing member for suspending the latter such that said sealing member may yield and accommodate to any irregularities in said neck adjacent said junction and provide a seal about said neck adjacent said junction, said means including a suspension flange of a radial inward extent to overlie and confront said neck top wall and being spaced therefrom when said threads are engaged and said seating member provides said seal about said neck.

2. The combination with a bottle including a neck terminating in a neck top wall and having external threads and an internal bore meeting said neck top wall at a junction of a combined closure and sealing assembly for said bottle comprising a cap including a top wall and a depending body wall defining a socket and terminating in an open end, an insert of yieldable material including a mounting wall force fitted into said socket, internal threads on said mounting wall dimensioned to engage said external threads on said neck, a depending hollow and thin-walled 'yieldable frusto-conical sealing member disposed coaxially of and in spaced relation to said internal threads and dimensioned for sealing engagement with said neck adjacent said junction, and means operatively connected to said mounting wall and to said sealing member for suspending the latter such that said sealing member may yield and accommodate to any irregularities in said neck adjacent said junction and provide a seal about said neck adjacent said junction, the suspending means including an annular thin-walled yieldable flange integral with said mounting wall and said sealing member and being of a radial extent to overlie and confront said neck top wall, said internal threads on said insert engaging said external threads on said bottle when said cap is engaged on said bottle to force said sealing member against said neck to provide said seal, said flange being spaced from said neck top wall in said engaged position such that said sealing member accommodates to any irregularities in said neck adjacent said junction.

3. The combination with a bottle including a neck terminating in a neck top wall and having external threads and an internal bore meeting said neck top wall at a junction of a combined closure and sealing assembly for said bottle comprising a cap including a top wall and 2. depending body wall defining a socket and terminating in an open end, an insert of yieldable material including a mounting wall force fitted into said socket, internal threads on said mounting wall dimensioned to engage said external threads on said neck, a depending yieldable sealing member disposed coaxially of and in spaced relation to said internal threads and dimensioned for sealing engagement with said neck adjacent said junction, and means operatively connected to said mounting Wall and to said sealing member for suspending the latter such that said sealing member may yield and accommodate to any irregularities in said neck adjacent said junction and provide a seal about said neck adjacent said junction, the suspending means including an annular yieldable flange integral with said mounting wall and said sealing 'member and being of a radial extent to overlie and confront said neck top wall, said internal threads on said insert engaging said external threads on said bottle when said cap is engaged on said bottle to force said sealing member against said neck to provide said seal, said flange being spaced from said neck top wall when said cap is engaged on said bottle such that said sealing member may yieid and accommodate to said irregularities in said neck.

4. The combination with a bottle including a neck terminating in a neck top wall and having external threads and an internal bore meeting said neck top wall at a junction of a combined closure and sealing assembly for said bottle comprising a cap including a wall having internal threads dimensioned to engage said external threads on said neck, a depending hollow and thin-walled yieldable frusto-conical sealing member disposed coaxially of and in spaced relation to said internal threads and dimensioned for sealing engagement with said neck adjacent said junction, and means operatively connected to said wall and to said sealing member for suspending the latter such that said sealing member may yield and ac- 5 6 commodate to any irregularities in said neck adjacent said References Cited by the Examiner junction and provide a seal about said neck adjacent said UNITED STATES PATENTS junction, the suspending means including an annular thinwalled yieldable flange connected to said wall and said 2,041,403 & Ferglfsson sealing member and being of a radial extent to overlie and 5 2,716,504 3/35 Mamn 215-431 confront said neck top Wall, said internal threads en- FOREIGN PATENTS gaging said external threads when said cap is engaged on said bottle to force said sealing member against said neck to provide said seal, said flange being spaced from said neck top Wall when said cap is engaged on said 10 I bottle such that said sealing member may yield and ac- FRANKLIN GARRETT P'lmmy Emmme" commodate to said irregularities in said neck.

1,077,767 11/54 France. 1,153,553 3/58 France. 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A BOTTLE INCLUDING A NECK TERMINATING IN A NACK TOP WALL AND HAVING EXTERNAL THREADS AND AN INTERNAL BORE MEETING SAID NECK TOP WALL AT A JUNTION OF A COMBINED CLOSURE AND SEALING ASSEMBLY FOR SAID BOTTLE COMPRISING A CAP INCLUDING A TOP WALL AND A DEPENDING BODY WALL DEFINING A SOCKET AND TERMINATING IN AN OPEN END, AN INSERT OF YIELDABLE MATERIAL INCLUDING A MOUNTING WALL FORCE FITTED INTO SAI SOCKET, INTERNAL THREADS ON SAID MOUNTING WALL DIMENSIONED TO ENGAGE SAID EXTERNAL THREADS ON SAID NECK, A DEPENDING HOLLOW AND THINWALLED YIELDABLE FRUSTO-CONICAL SEALING MEMBER DISPOSED COAXIALLY OF AND INSPACED RELATION TO SAID INTERNAL THREADS AND DIMENSIONED FOR SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SID NECK ADJACENT SAID JUNCTION, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID MOUNTING WALL AND TO SAID SEALING MEMBER FOR SUSPENDING THE LATTER SUCH THAT SAID SEALING MEMBER MAY YIELD AND ACCOMMODATE TO ANY IRREGULARITIES IN SAID NECK ADJACENT SAID JUNCTION AND PROVIDE A SEAL ABOUT SAID NECK ADJACENT SAID JUNCTION, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A SUSPENSION FLANGE OF A RADIAL INWARD EXTENT TO OVERLIE AND CONFRONT SAID NECK TOP WALL AND BEING SPACED THEREFROM WHEN SAID THREADS ARE ENGAGED AND SAID SEATING MEMBER PROVIDES SAID SEAL ABOUT SAID NECK. 